CFD-based model for melt flow in laser beam welding of aluminium with coaxial magnetic field

Abstract

The use of magnetic fields to influence weld bead shape and dilution in laser welding of aluminium alloys was recently suggested. For the case of laser welding of hot-cracking sensitive aluminium alloys with silicon-containing filler wire it was already demonstrated that applying alternating magnetic fields has an impact on the dilution of silicon in the melt pool, yielding sufficient silicon content throughout the weld to suppress hot-cracking. This is due to the changed melt flow condition resulting from induced magnetic volume forces.In this paper, a CFD-based model will be presented that was used to numerically calculate the resulting velocity field for laser beam welding of aluminium with external applied magnetic fields. The model includes temperaturedepending material properties, surface tension and buoyancy. The inhomogeneous magnetic flux density distribution implemented in this model has been derived from Hall sensor probes of a welding head prototype used for experimental investigations. It is shown that a steady magnetic field applied coaxially to the laser beam will affect the direction of melt flow and can be described as an inhomogeneous electromagnetic break.